Pedophiles are going free because the FBI refuses to reveal its secret methods.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice would rather let hardened pedophiles go free than to turn over information related to their methods of gathering evidence against such suspects. In some cases, the FBI has reportedly run porn sites in order to gather information on child porn seekers. And in other instances, the FBI has infected suspects’ computers with malware, all in an effort to gather the evidence necessary for a conviction.

Labeled “The Playpen,” the FBI’s kiddie porn sting operation on Friday saw the latest suspect to walk free. His name is Jay Michaud. His lawyer successfully argued in court that the FBI must turn over to his team of lawyers information regarding the Network Investigative Technique (NIT) it used to gather evidence on Mr. Michaud. The FBI said it would not turn over any information regarding NIT to the defense team, and the judge in the case, Judge Bryan then ruled all evidence gathered from NIT must be therefore suppressed.

As a result of the FBI’s refusal to turn over any information about the NIT used to gather information on Michaud, the FBI then chose to let Mr. Michaud go free. According to Techdirt, this is a common practice for the FBI when forced to choose between handing over technical data or letting a suspect walk free.

“The FBI is developing quite the reputation for dropping prosecutions in the face of challenges of its secret tools and techniques. The NDAs it hands out to every law enforcement agency seeking to purchase Stingrays not only tells them to obscure the device’s use, but to let suspects walk if it seems some of this info might make its way into the courtroom,” Techdirt writes.